| COMFORT AND EQUIPMENT RATING: |
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The Focus's seats are large and well-sculpted, plus extremely adjustable, while the steering column adjusts widely for both reach and rake. The slightly upright driving position might seem a little odd at first, but soon feels natural and remains comfortable over distance. The seats seem a little unyielding but soak up most heavy thuds, while wind and road noise is well suppressed, too. That said, the Focus's ride could be a little more compliant. The Focus was designed with the knowledge that people are tending to downsize out of Mondeo-class cars and into cars like this. Hence, it's very spacious, offering room for four or five adults. The boot is quite capacious, too. Once we'd have given the Focus five stars here but newer, similarly priced vehicles in this class now provide slightly more room in the rear and boot space, which means it is no longer worth top marks. Ford's stereos are very easy to use, with big buttons and simple controls. A CD player is standard on many models, too, while sat-nav is an option on some models at around £1500. Inevitably, the more kit you specify, the more difficult it gets to use, but even the Sat-Nav/CD-changer control unit is fairly decipherable. The sound quality on all models is adequate.
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